||| by Lin McNulty, Orcas Issues Editor |||
On Sunday evening, at 7:39 p.m., Washington State Ferries (WSF) sent the following alert to WSF subscribers:
Is this the latest WSF has been behind, or is it just my overworked, overloaded tolerance level that makes me want to weep?
The #1 Yakima is an estimated 105 minutes behind schedule. This delayed the 4:30 p.m. from Friday Harbor to Anacortes, and will delay the 5:55 p.m. from Anacortes to Lopez and Orcas, the 7:20 p.m. from Orcas to Lopez and Anacortes, the 8:55 p.m. from Anacortes to Lopez, Shaw and Orcas and the 10:20 p.m. from Orcas to Anacortes.
The #2 Chelan is an estimated 105 minutes behind schedule due to earlier unscheduled maintenance. This delayed the 5:25 p.m. all stops from Friday Harbor to Anacortes, and will delay the 8:20 p.m. from Anacortes to Lopez and Friday Harbor and the 9:50 p.m. all stops from Friday Harbor to Anacortes.
The #3 Samish is an estimated 120 minutes behind schedule. This delays the 5:20 p.m. all stops from Anacortes to Friday Harbor and the 7:50 p.m. from Friday Harbor to Anacortes.
Note: This is an alert from yesterday, not today.
Two hours late is not a record, by any measure. I think the worst on our routes was nearly three hours, and Kingston (one-boat service on weekends) has had four-hour waits this summer. It is not pretty, but WSF is very much aware of the impacts. The problem is that they are flat-out of resources, due to the virus thing.
Solutions need come through legislation, we can’t starve the ferry system and expect improvements. What we need are council members who are willing to go down to Olympia for the session. And there is only one, the council member from Orcas, who has done that in recent years. For folks who care about ferries, that is huge.
Jim Corenman, chair San Juan County FAC … fac@sanjuanco.com
“What we need are council members who are willing to go down to Olympia for the session. And there is only one, the council member from Orcas, who has done that in recent years.”
And so, here we are… under the watch of the Orcas Councilman.
Don’t know whether Lin meant this as an editorial or a PSA; but, in any case, it speaks for itself. Don’t read it and weep, folks, read it and rage. Jim, there is NO valid excuse for shambles this has become. Ferries are our highway and our lifeline. WSF can at least adjust schedules to reflect reality. All praise to Rick Hughes for his continued efforts in Olympia, but we need more. People, write your legislators (just to your left).
So, I’m confused. Do you intend that we need more council members who are willing to go down to Olympia so that we can lobby for more ferries and more people? This seems a little bit, no, it seems a lot like the tail wagging the dog. Where is this logic going to get us? Backwards planning is the logic that got us here.
Coming to you soon– More ferries! More people! More ferries! More people! More ferries! More people! Normal is not normal anymore… just say “No”.
AND, (under the leadership of the current county council), COMING TO YOU SOON!
The first of many more to come walk-on only ferries that will be loading & unloading at the public dock in Eastsound! Just think of all the opportunities this will bring for all of the (continued) improvements that will be needed all the way from the public dock and Madrona Street into town! It’s all beginning to make sense now isn’t it? No it isn’t.
With matching public funding available for anything with the word “tourism” in it the sky is the limit.
Mr. Corenman fails to mention that both the Edmonds-Kingston route (serving central Kitsap County) and the Mukilteo-Clinton route (to Whidbey Island) will return to their usual two-boat schedules by the end of this month. And where does that leave us? Having a February schedule for August traffic levels!
As to passenger-only ferry service, that has been studied ad nauseum for more than 20 years. The results never come close to making any sense, even for the more commuter-centric Down Sound routes. And splitting our service between two terminals, either on the island or on the mainland, would further complicate trips off-island.
Lin’s article quoting a recent WSF alert is regrettably what we are experiencing day after day.
So like I’ve said here before, “We deserve better.”
For clarification– the discussion around passenger only ferries serving Eastsound has centered around using private commercial ferries.
“Private commercial ferries?” I wait with great anticipation to see the list of operators willing to provide passenger-only ferry service at fares that don’t give us all sticker shock.
“Private commercial ferries?”
Privately owned commercially operated passenger boats have been operating in & out of Friday Harbor for years.